


Tony Fucking Stark is Back

by Lene3161



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Moving On, Revenge, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-10-26 21:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17754164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lene3161/pseuds/Lene3161
Summary: Being left with a broken suit in the middle of Siberia is surprisingly conducive to rethinking your life choices. Just ask Tony Stark.Rogers should have made sure he was dead. Because Tony the Doormat is gone, and Tony Fucking Stark is finally back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The 1st chaoter isn’t very Bucky friendly as Tony still has his grief to work out. It’d get better eventually.
> 
> Tony almost died-keyword ALMOST. He’ll get better. It’s a long way to recovery, but he’ll be healthy again. If a near death experience triggers you, the second half of the first chapter is basically Tony’s near death, so avoid that part.

‘How dare he?’ 

 

Tony laid against the wall, desperately trying to find a way to breathe without jarring his lungs. His lungs, which were probably punctured by  _his own fucking suit_ alongside his ribs, because he tried to  _help_ his fucking attacker.

 

’How fucking  _dare_ he!?’

 

That prick. Beating him up and leaving him in a dead suit was bad enough, but that-

 

His brain stuttered, refusing to acknowledge the horror of what he had seen. Dear God, all those years of blaming himself. Of sobbing at his mother’s death, drinking away his sorrows and getting high to try and stop feeling as though his world was sinking and dragging him along. Mama didn’t deserve to be strangled. Even Howard, asshole as he was, didn’t deserve such a death. And all that was because of the Winter Soldier. All that pain, because he fucking  _killed_ them.

 

And Rogers  _knew_. He knew, for years, and he didn’t say a word. What was worse, he used him. He used his money, lived in his house, ate his food and used his equipment. He took and took and took _everything_ without once trying to earn it. And he had purposefully driven a wedge between Tony and the team, too, he could see it now. Him and Romanova. God, how could he be so stupid? All those snide comments, insults muttered under breaths, ‘jokes’ which were always on his expense... He had become a punching bag, a scapegoat, a checkbook for them and the Avengers. How dare that bastard act all high and mighty when he undermined him at every opportunity? But why? Maybe Rogers was jealous? Was it his fault? He could be arrogant, he admitted that. And he tended to babble.

 

 _‘_ And that justifies him hiding this from you?’ His mind whispered. ‘Does dislike justify lying? Does it justify living on someone’s dime and insulting him, making him feel small at the same time?  _Does it?_ ’

 

”No.” Tony hissed. “No, no, no _nonono_ NOOO!” He screamed. Just...no. He was _done_. He was no longer the Avengers’ sugar daddy, their doormat, or victim. He was his own person and he would never be anything else anymore. He would rebuild. He always did. He was always the one left to fix things because everybody was dead or nobody cared. And now, he would rebuild  _himself_. This Tony would be gone, not even dust in the wind. Tony Fucking Stark would replace him. Tony Fucking Stark who had nearly been destroyed by the other Avengers. Funny, Afghanistan, Obie and Ultron hadn’t broken Tony Fucking Stark, but the Avengers nearly did. Well fuck that. He’d destroy the Avengers, and he’d build something much better in its place.

 

Rogers should have killed him. Because now, Tony would destroy him. He’d claw bits and bits of him away slowly and painfully until he had nothing left. And the Avengers too. Tony was never an Avenger, was he? Good thing too, because if this was what being an Avenger meant, he’d happily repulsor blast his brain to avoid being such scum. Yes, he’d wring everything away from the Avengers, drop by painful drop, until they had nothing left to give. And then he’d wring them some more. And whoever had returned the shield and EXO-wings to Rogers and Wilson was also on his shitlist. Actually, anybody who helped them. He’d salt the earth after them. He’d win. And how he wanted to win, he’d been losing for far too long.

 

Tony breathed shallowly, before resting back against the wall. FRIDAY would have sent a distress signal as soon as she lost contact with him. All he needed to do now was wait(and hope he didn’t die first). 

 

* * *

 

Tony gasped as he felt something in his chest sink, for lack of a better word. It must be his lungs. Dear God, why is it always his lungs? First the waterboarding in Afghanistan, than the arc reactor pressing on them, and now this? How many hours had he waited? Will he hold on? Will he lose his fingers? The Extremis he’d injected himself with had given him more durability, but he didn’t know how much. He hoped it would protect his hands. He’d be nothing without them.

 

Tony swallowed. And did his best to fall into unconsciousness again. While it had been fun to imagine Rogers and Co’s suffering for a bit, he didn’t want his last thought if he was to die to be them. They didn’t deserve that honour. His brilliant mind didn’t need that kind of filth, really. 

 

Tony couldn’t do the breathing exercises he usually did when he needed to calm down because he was afraid for his lungs, but he could imagine Mama singing him a lullaby and tucking him in. It was desperately sad, but it was much better than Team Craptain. He hoped he’d get to see Mama, even though he’d be headed to Hell. Mama would be the prettiest angel in heaven, he just knew it. Maybe Dio can grant him that, just for a little while. Maybe he should pray. But no, he doubted Dio would want to listen to someone as worthless as he was. He just hoped Dad wouldn’t be in Hell. He had enough of him in life. 

 

But what if he could see Mama? They’d play on the piano again. They’d hug and kiss and cuddle again. Dio Cristo, he’d give anything for it to happen. He missed Mama’s soft hands, comforting voice and lovely singing. He tried to remember them. God, why did he try to bury all those memories? He needed them now. Well, he’ll make new ones. He imagined Mama taking him out for ice cream, and taking him to the beach. Jarvis and Ana was there, of course. Maybe this wasn’t too bad, this dying thing. He had Mama right beside him after all. It’ll be fine.

 

Tony was so delirious he didn’t hear the Russian soldiers storming the bunker. He didn’t feel as they tried to pry his suit off. He didn’t know that they gave the job to Vision, who ripped him out of the suit. He didn’t wake when he was loaded into a plane to be flown to the nearest hospital.

 

Later on, Vision would mull over Tony’s soft, peaceful smile; and wonder how a man with collapsed and punctured lungs, and shattered ribs and sternum, could look so relieved.


	2. A Plan of Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony woke up to an unpleasant surprise. But he adapted to it like a champ.
> 
> (Actually, he didn’t)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The usual hand-wavy comic book science when it comes to the MCU.

Tony woke up and saw SI’s med bay ceiling. Good. That meant he survived. He could fix things. That was what he always did-he was an engineer, after all. But his hands had been in danger because of the Siberian cold. Were they still intact? He lifted up his hands and to his joy, he found them unharmed. But his joy was short-lived when he realized his chest was  _glowing_ under the thin hospital gown.

 

He sat up and ripped off the flimsy fabric, seeing smooth unscarred skin and metal, and dimly registered the heart monitor’s loud beeping. Good God, how had he not noticed? He could feel it now, the arc reactor that was back in his chest. Why didn’t he-

 

Oh. _Oh_. 

 

He hadn’t noticed it because there was none of the crushing weight that pressed on his lungs and inhibited his ability to breathe. But it was impossible. Lungs weren’t meant to be compressed by anything except the ribcage during breathing. Unless parts of his lungs were somehow removed, he should have felt the weight. And even if that happened, his breathing should have been inhibited. But he breathed better than ever now. His lungs took in more air than before the second insertion of his arc reactor; even more than before Afghanistan. All of it only meant one thing: Extremis.

 

‘No.’

 

What was it with him and ‘no’ recently? 

 

He couldn’t believe this(actually, he could). The damage done must be truly irrepairable if Pepper, his health care agent, had chosen to do it. Oh, Rogers was going to  _pay_ for turning him into this-this-

 

His mind shyed away from his current status: a superhuman. Just like Rogers. He barely felt as the nurses injected him with a sedative, too busy raging at his near-murderer.

 

* * *

 

Tony woke up to the ceiling of his own bedroom. Last he remembered, he was in the hospital. So why was he back in his room? How much time had passed before they moved him? What happened while he was asleep?

 

"Boss! Are you okay?" FRIDAY yelled.

 

Rhodey’s voice sounded. “You’re awake!”

 

”Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Tony rasped out. "Hi, FRI. Hi, Rhodey."

 

Rhodey helped him sit up before handing him a glass of water. Tony drank it gratefully. It was then he noticed that Rhodey was in a wheelchair.

 

Seeing Tony’s look of horror, Rhodey just sighed. “It can’t be helped, Tones.” He shrugged. “I always knew the risks. I accepted that whenever I flew War Machine it could be my last. Don’t blame yourself. Blame the Rogues.” Rhodey looked calm and accepting, but those who knew him well could see how upset he was in the line of his shoulders and the slight tightening on the corners of his eyes.

 

”It’s my fault, Rhodey. If I hadn’t indulged them so much-“

 

”Wait, _what_?”

 

“What _what_? I realized I had let their treatment of me go too long. Trust me, the cold Siberian air is very beneficial to self-realization. I was their shield against consequences and responsibility for so long that they felt they can do whatever they want. Well, that stops now.”

 

Tony’s fists were clenched with determination. “I’m sorry for not seeing it sooner, Rhodey. If I did, this-“ he gestured at Rhodey’s wheelchair. “-wouldn’t have happened.” 

 

“God, Tony. It’s not your fault, you don’t need to apologize. But you don’t know how long we’ve wanted to hear you say the Avengers did you wrong.” Rhodey looked ecstatic.

 

”We?”

 

”Pepper, Happy and I, of course. And the BoD, too. But you’ll never hear that from them.”

 

”The BoD? You, Pepper and Happy I understand, you’re my family.” Rhodey’s face smushed from the incoming _feelings._ Tony’s face nearly did the same thing, but he continued on. “But why would the BoD want me to break away from the Avengers?”

 

“Because you spent a ridiculous amount of resources on them, Tony. And I don’t mean SI resources,” Rhodey shut Tony’s argument of never using SI for the Avengers down, “You gave them so much of yourself. You spent so much time building their weapons and providing for SHIELD and smoothing over their messes that you barely had any time for SI.”

 

That was true. Sometimes Tony himself wondered how he managed all his responsibilities-no, the responsibilities the Avengers foisted off on him. 

 

“Just think, how many meetings have you missed? Reports you put aside because you had to be diplomatic for the Avengers, ideas you never made solid because SHIELD wanted a shipment of armour in an impossible deadline? You were burning out, Tones, and they can see that. It was only a matter of time before you become so tired you won’t be able to do anything well.”

 

”You’re right, Rhodey. I’ve been juggling more than I should for far too long. I won’t do that anymore. I’ve cut the dead weight off. Now, I’m going to focus on the important things in life. And finish what the Avengers started.” A dark smile appeared on Tony’s face.

 

Rhodey looked surprised. Then a matching grin appeared on his face.

 

”That you will, Tones. That you will.”

 

”Do you three want to join me?”

 

”Definitely. When Pepper’s done with her meeting, we’ll call Happy up.”

 

Sensing Tony’s confused stare, Rhodey poked his nose gently. “The BoD is panicked because stock prices have gone down thanks to the whole Civil War.” The media called it that? “Then you were in a coma for a week. Stock prices plummeted, Tones. Pepper’s going to meeting after meeting reassuring people SI will make it. Journalists, Team Cap demonstrators and your supporters have been outside the whole time. Happy’s guarding the entrance so the Tower won’t be stormed by reckless idiots. That’s why they weren’t with you both times you woke up.”

 

“When they’re done, we’re going to make a Plan.”

 

”I call dibs on Wilson. The thing with Vision was because of him, after all."

 

"Vision! Dio, how have I forgotten him? Is he okay? Where is he?" Tony half-shrieked.

 

"He's alright physically. Emotionally is another matter. He's off with Legal and PR. Ross tried to sink his claws into him while you were gone, but so far, Legal's done alright protecting him. They're trying to improve his image right now. I think you and him should spend some time together, doing something good-and, you know, bond. It's just-you treat him differently than your other creations, Tones. And he's always with the Avengers, barely with you. You two need to talk things out."

 

"The colonel's right, Boss. You do the same to me, too. I get that ULTRON scared you, but it hurts." FRIDAY chimed in.

 

"I'll-I'll do that. I'm sorry, FRI." Tony whispered. He was scared of ULTRON, so he limited FRIDAY's abilities. Spending time with Vision was painful because he was a reminder of JARVIS. Tony had distanced himself to avoid the pain, and as some sort of self-flagellation. Then he was always so busy and Vision was always with the Avengers, and being distant was all too easy. That will have to change.

 

At least he now remembered that he had a family with him, a family that wanted to help.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Ant Guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you see anything wrong with the law stuff here, please tell me so I can edit
> 
> I love Black Panther. I love T'Challa. I love Shuri. But T'Challa misstepped, and it is important to remember that. It's understandable, he's young and not really acquainted with the world, but his actions still affect Wakanda badly

Tony's newly updated Hit List which is arranged in ascending order of hatred except for T'Challa went something like this:

 

1\. The Guy in the Raft Who Said To Never Trust a Stark, whatever his name was

2\. Sharon Carter

3\. Sam Wilson

4\. Clint Barton

5\. Natalia Romanova

6\. Wanda Maximoff

7\. Steve Rogers 

8\. T'Challa

 

Thor is a tiny footnote at the very bottom. One, Tony still hasn't figured out how to go to Asgard. It was only a matter of time. He'll do it eventually. Two, Asgardians won't listen to a 'puny mortal'. And he still doesn't understand the intricacies of Asgardian culture, so he doesn't know the best way to get back at Thor for grabbing his neck and possibly killing him. Eh, he had bigger fish to fry than one renegade asshole. It's not like he has any influence and power on Earth, so he really was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Probably more than Giant Guy.

 

T'Challa was...Tony would almost feel bad targeting him. But he took in the Avengers and that  _cannot_ stand. Honestly, Tony can only shake his head at the young king. So Barnes was his right to target when  _his_ father was killed, but when it was others' fathers being buried he brought Barnes to Wakanda. It was just-ergh. And kindness and honor or whatever it is that led him to take in the rest of the Avengers aside, what kind of monarch does that? The Avengers were international fugitives. It would give Wakandans a bad name. They'd be seen as a bunch of assholes, despite it being only one person’s fault. 

 

Point was, T’Challa was a newly-hatched betta fish playing with the sharks. He’d doomed his people to scrutiny and rejection. But Tony didn’t actively hate him, so he goes near the bottom of the List.

 

Giant Guy. Tony still wasn’t sure why he was even there. Probably ‘Captain America!’ and his common sense flew out the window-or shrank into the void. Possibly his brain was squeezed too much whenever he wore his suit and he became stupid. If he was even not-stupid in the first place. He’ll pay for helping Cap get away.

 

Either way, Tony would handle him after he handled Ross, his current target.

 

* * *

 

Ross was pathetically easy to defeat. Three days of hacking, one week with Legal and a package sent to the Supreme Court later, and Ross had to go to court to handle the accusations against him.

 

Tony, Rhodey and Vision testified, of course. The trial took a month because people kept coming forward and giving new evidence.

 

It all ended with Ross being sentenced to fifteen consecutive lifetimes in prison without the possibility of parole for human rights violations. Ross didn’t even make a sound when they dragged him away in chains. It was probably the shock when he realized his life was over.

 

So that was how the episode with Ross ended. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

 

With Ross’ victims, on the other hand...the work seemed neverending. Losing jobs and bankruptcy and being kidnapped and missing for years and experimented on...it messed you up. Tony did his best to help by providing therapy and some money to live on while they got their lives together. He also asked those who needed prosthetics if they wanted the prosthetics he had developed with Rhodey. He was quickly making more types of prosthetics, and they needed them. They eagerly accepted.

 

Having destroyed Ross, Tony turned his eye to his Hit List. He’d already made plans for each person, but for now, he’ll put it aside. He needed to focus on himself first. He wasn't going to let some insignificant, powerless fugitives overrule his life.

 

* * *

 

Rhodey, Happy and Pepper investigated Vision. No matter how much Tony wanted to start building a relationship with Vision, he'd learnt his lesson and wasn't going to befriend someone who'd end up not being there. It hurt Tony, to think one of his creations could possibly choose Team Cap over him, but Vision didn't owe him anything. 

 

Vision was surprisingly game about it all. He even stated that his research on romantic relationships said that Maximoff's actions were wrong. It was excessive, the way Maximoff forced herself out. And there should never be any violence in the first place in a developing relationship. It was a relief to know he wouldn't lose a potential friend.

 

He continued taking care of himself after that. He and Pepper decided to slowly rebuild their friendship, because their romance wasn't exactly healthy. Pepper quietly admitted that she didn't handle Iron Man well. It freed something in Tony, to know that he wasn't crazy about feeling there was something  _off_ about the way they both handled things. Tony also admitted he wasn't exactly easy to love, what with his drinking and PTSD. They decided to focus on being friends first, and if they wanted a romance they'll go to a relationship counselor to make sure they were doing things right.

 

Tony worked up the courage to confront Rhodey about his inaction with Thor. To his shock, Rhodey didn't even  _know_ Thor grabbed him by the throat and the Avengers did nothing. Rhodey had a concussion and saw everything in a confused fog. Rhodey didn't want to tell him because he didn't want to bother Tony. It made Tony feel so much better about himself. He wondered why Rhodey, his oldest friend, didn't interfere and had decided he thought Tony deserved it. They made a pact to communicate better.

 

Tony apologized to the Spiderling for taking him into a potentially dangerous situation. He made the kid tell his aunt, and try to get her consent for hero-ing. May asked Tony to at least train Peter more so he wouldn't get hurt. Tony took him under his wing, and they met weekly for movie nights. Pepper, Vision, Rhodey and Happy also joined in.

 

Tony laughed, had fun, saw a therapist, and rebuilt. The Avengers Compound he turned into an affordable housing project. SI's new line of prosthetics sold well, and he had already set up a program for veterans and low-income people to get theirs at reduced prices. Once another month passed, Tony turned his eye on Ant Guy.

 

* * *

 

Ant Guy turned out to be Scott Lang. He's a father of one, a little girl called Cassandra Lang. The poor girl's picture was plastered all over news channels. Her mom and stepfather was relentlessly hounded by the press. It's been two months and the media furore only died down a bit. Jim Paxton had been put on three months' paid leave. Luckily, Maggie was a data analyst so she could work from home and her job wasn't affected. Tony had doubts now about his revenge plan.

 

Initially, it was easy. Drain him dry of all his possessions and leave his reputation in tatters. But his family-well, there's an idea.

 

 

 

Tony pulled up to the Paxtons' house with a whole troop of ex-SHIELD bodyguards and his legal team. He charmingly threatened every reporter to back off and leave the Paxtons the hell alone. Familiar with his legal team's prowess and terrified of his definitely-spy-or-equally-dangerous-job-Jesus-have-you-seen-them bodyguards, the reporters scattered. 

 

Happy took a teddy bear, chocolates and a bottle of wine from the car while Tony pulled out a fruit basket and about three days' worth of gourmet freezer-friendly foods from his car. The food came from a former accountant in SHIELD who was tortured by HYDRA. Thankfully, Tony got him before he had anything worse than broken fingers and pulled nails. He decided to pursue his original dream of opening a restaurant after his near-death-or-worse... _incident_. Tony asked him if he could provide some food for the family who had been forced to live on canned goods and little else. He sent a truly excellent spread to Stark Tower. Tony tried to persuade him to come give the meals personally, but he was afraid his somewhat high-strung behaviour might affect the already hurt family. Tony accepted his reasoning and brought the food himself.

 

Tony set up an EMP to fry any recording reporters' devices before saying at the front door, "Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Paxton? I came here to offer help with your si-" He was cut off by Maggie Paxton throwing open the door. Before anyone could do anything, Paxton grabbed Tony's shoulders and kissed him on the mouth. While Tony stood there gaping, she hugged Happy so hard that he let out a wheeze. 

 

"Thank God, thank God, Jesus Christ, thanks for coming everything's a mess-" Mrs. Paxton babbled before Mr. Paxton appeared at the door and gently pulled her back while making soothing noises.

 

"Why don't you go and have a glass of water, Maggie?" Mrs. Paxton eyed the wine bottle longingly before nodding. Tony couldn't blame her. If he was trapped in his house because his ex decided to be an idiot, he'd have a breakdown when someone actually acted useful.

 

"Come in, please." Tony could see Mr. Paxton was barely holding himself together. Hope and distrust warred in his expression.

 

Tony, his legal team and Happy accepted the invitation and found themselves in a homey living room. They set their gifts down on the coffee table. Mr. Paxton told them to sit, and Mrs. Paxton appeared after getting herself together. Tony saw a little girl hiding behind a doorway to the dining room but decided to let her listen.

 

Tony wasted no time and got to the point. "Mr. and Mrs. Paxton, I'm sorry for your situation. I'm here to offer my help so you can deal with Lang any way you want to. I'm willing to give you a place in Canada you can relocate to if you want."

 

"Why? Why would you help us?" Mrs. Paxton asked distrustfully. 

 

"Because you're the ones left behind and suffering because of his actions. Because I want revenge." Tony was laying all his cards on the table.

 

"Revenge?" Mr. Paxton's eyes narrowed.

 

"Yes. I'd have helped you either way, because it's not your fault and you don't deserve any of this, but knowing his family was helped by a Stark while authorities seized everything he owned would be a real thorn in his side." 

 

"With all due respect, Mr. Stark, we can't accept your help. You're hurt by Scott. You have no obligation to help us." Mrs. Paxton said.

 

It was nice to have people acknowledging that he didn't owe them anything. 

 

"Please let me do this, Mrs. Paxton. If not for you, let me do it for Cassandra Paxton. I'm not doing this for completely altruistic reasons, you know."

 

"Don't lie, Mr. Stark. We know you truly did want to help us." Jim Paxton was smiling.

 

Tony shrugged. "I'll give you several days to discuss-"

 

"We'll take it!" Mrs. Paxton blurted out. 

 

"Maggie, are you sure-"

 

"Yes, Jim! God, I'm not letting Scott get away with it this time! We've given him a second chance and what did he do? He blew it and became an international criminal! I'm terminating his rights!"

 

"No!" A little brunette launched herself at her mother. "No, Mom! No! Please!" 

 

Maggie Paxton faltered. Sighing, she said "Cassie, we need to think about your father's actions. He made a mistake and we gave him a chance to do things right. He didn't use it. He made a bigger mistake that let a bad guy who killed a lot of people escape. We need to stay far away from him, Cassie, before he can do anything bad again."

 

"Mrs. Paxton?" Kathy Moore, one of his best lawyers, said delicately. "If I may suggest another option?" She leveled a significant look at Cassie.

 

"Please explain it to Jim. I need to-" She gestured. Kathy nodded sympathetically. Maggie Paxton carried her crying daughter up to what Tony assumed to be her room.

 

"What if you level a restraining order on Scott Lang, Mr. Paxton? It's not quite a termination, but it would keep him away from Cassandra for the time being. If he ever decides to get his act together and turn himself in, you can lift it and let her visit him in prison."

 

Jim Paxton chewed on his lip while he mulled it over. "Alright," he finally said. "Maggie will have to file it, though, because she's the one with custody. I'll get her." He went up the stairs. Fifteen minutes later, a red-eyed Maggie Paxton came downstairs.

 

She signed everything stonily, obviously trying to stay strong for her daughter. Tony offered to move her to a hotel until everything blew over, but she rejected it. 

 

"I've been considering buying us a vacation home anyway, Mr. Stark. We'll just use the money to buy ourselves a new permanent residence. It'll be a fresh start for all of us." She smiled wryly. 

 

"Alright. But if you ever need anything else, call me." Tony gave her his card.

 

"I'll pay you back for everything, Mr. Stark."

 

"You don't need-"

 

"Yes, I do. Send me the bill later."

 

"Okay. It was nice talking with you and your husband, Mrs. Paxton."

 

"Call me Maggie, Mr. Stark."

 

Not even a day later, gossip rags reported Tony was having an affair with Maggie. 

 

* * *

 

Pepper had sued Lang to hell and back. Hank Pym video-called and accused Tony of creating some sort of conspiracy so he could steal the Ant Man suit. Tony laughed in his face and asked Pepper to sue Pym for defamation of character and aiding and abetting burglary. It probably wasn't fair, because nobody knew about Siberia except the Accords Committee so Pym didn't know why he was so enraged, but the man would probably chalk it up to his ego. Tony would have left him alone but he asked for it. Lang was facing charges of grand theft for breaking into the Avengers Compound a year ago, burglary, attempted murder of James Rhodes, and aiding and abetting criminals. Oh, and Germany sued him for causing damage to the airport. 

 

Lang ended up with all his assets seized. He was left penniless. The restraining order was widely publicised. Tony had a feeling he'll appear in law textbooks soon as an example.

 

Pym started running his mouth to anyone that would listen to his stupid idea. Tony won the case easily. Pym's face was priceless when he was told to pay compensation and return the Pym Particles to Tony. After all, he didn't file a patent for it and had no proof Howard stole it. Who can tell if he was lying about the whole thing? It's not like he wasn't spouting ridiculous claims already. 

 

Tony took pity on him and produced the files on Howard he dug out from the SHIELD data dump. Lo and behold, SHIELD stole the damned Particles and blamed it on Howard. Pym made the most interesting face as his enemy was revealed to be the scapegoat. Pym kept his particles. He ended up having to give a public apology because the court ordered him to.

 

Lang went back to the US in three days, crying and begging to be allowed to see Cassie. Ironic, the restraining order had just been granted when he went back. He got sentenced to two years' house arrest, and Cassie did get to see her father. 

 

Eh. It wasn't really revenge, more a bit of warming up because the guy only distracted them for a bit, but he could have killed or hurt Rhodey in Giant form. Tony decided he deserved it for even trying to lay a finger on his Platypus.

 

The phone Rogers sent him had been ringing incessantly since the announcement of him suing Lang. Tony recorded every single one of the voicemails and calls so he could use it to take Rogers down. One had Rogers declaring his love for him. Tony washed his ears in disgust. Bleargh. 

 

Tony gave himself a break before targeting Sharon even though he didn't really need it. It wasn't wrong to indulge himself occasionally, after all. He ordered pizza and ate it while watching movies in his room wearing only boxers. He took a long bath with a glass or two of wine, and even used a face mask.

 

'Life is good', Tony thought while laying on his bed after his pampering.

 

 


End file.
